Brother
by MitsukiNori
Summary: Sister story to my in-progress story, 'Epicfic'. Basicaly the day that Mitsuki and Ichigo met. Because they didn't always know each other. Short.


The nine year old girl had been camped out on the couch for days. Always in the white nightgown that was much too big for her, always in the corner, always hugging her knees to her chest. Her life was broken. Her mother was cruel, uncaring, and finally gone... But did that fix anything? No. Mitsuki knew that her mother hated her, wanted her dead, but to be so un-motherly to... To actually _leave_ her child? That was a whole different level to Mitsuki. Everyone else loved Mitsuki, even so much as to dote on her, but... Her mother never wanted a child. Truly, she was glad to be away from the abuse, but she couldn't help like something was bound go amiss. That was the reason she hadn't left the couch for the last several days. Whatever Mitsuki sensed, it was always right. And... She was terrified.

"Mitsuki?" Her father, Freddy approached his daughter and sat next to her on the couch. Mitsuki had always been tall for her age, but still only being nine years old, Freddy easily dwarfed his daughter. Mitsuki carefully lifted her head to look at him, "Yes, father?" She calmly replied, forcing her voice not to shake. "You know about your brother right? And how he has a different mother from you?" Freddy asked, looking at Mitsuki with an even expression. Mitsuki nodded, and said nothing, more worried about what her father was about to say, than anything else. "Well... Mitsuki, apparently, Ichigo's mother died a little while ago." The gasp was barely audible from Mitsuki's petite mouth, but Freddy heard it. "Father... May I see Ichi-Nii?" She tilted her head to the side, then smiled softly when her father nodded. "Yes, I have already spoken to Mr. Kurosaki about that, and... Well, we both think it's about time you two met each other. Especially since Ichigo has been coming home late for the last few weeks. We can go today, after school lets out, if you'd like." Mitsuki nodded once more in response, and finally left the couch to go to her room. After so many days, she needed a bath. Badly.

Mitsuki wandered quietly out of her room a long while later, not worried by time much at all. Her and her father held silence as they solemnly marched out of the door. Words weren't needed, and the last month had been rough for the two of them.

"Oh, hey Freddy, thanks for coming..." Mitsuki could tell by Mr. Kurosaki's composure that he usually had a very bright personality, but due to the circumstances, he was looking rather grim. Of course. Who wouldn't be if their wife had just died, one of their daughters had locked themselves into their room to cry, the other daughter took on her mother's responsibilities, and their only son stayed out late every night. Mitsuki could tell this from the faint sobbing of a girl that resounded in the home, the smell of food cooking in the kitchen, and what her father had told her earlier.

"Karin, Yuzu, our guests are here!" Mr. Kurosaki called out. Soon two small girls, younger than Mitsuki, came out. The one with orange-brown hair smiled softly, while the dark-haired girl frowned. Mitsuki gave no expression at all for a moment, until she found that Mr. Kurosaki and her father were introducing her to the two girls, Yuzu and Karin. She gave them a casual, yet cheeky, grin, that was nothing like that of an angel. "It's nice to meet you both." She said. "Yeah, whatever..." Karin mumbled. Mr. Kurosaki cast Freddy an anxious look, and Freddy frowned at his daughter. "Mitsuki, please behave." He said, with a stricter tone than he usually used. Mitsuki flicked her hair off her shoulder, "Yes, yes, of course, father." She turned to Mr. Kurosaki, "I suppose he's still out?" He jumped a bit, "You mean Ichigo? Yes, he's still out." He answered. "Well then, he should be at home, the moron! I'm going to go find him!" The two men and two girls stared after the nine year old girl as she opened the door and ran off. "You're just going to let her run off after calling her brother a moron?" Mr. Kurosaki asked Freddy, who shrugged. "She's suddenly growing up... She usually has the smile of an angel."

It's not that hard to narrow down the possible locations of a nine year old boy, at least not for Mitsuki. In fact, she found the boy at the first place she looked; out in the grass by the side of the road. "Ichi-Nii?" She called out to the boy with the messy orange hair and honey-brown eyes. He glanced at her, "Who're you?" Cold. "I'm Mitsuki Hannori. And you're Ichigo Kurosaki, aren't you?" She already knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from his own mouth. "This must be some kind of joke, as if I'd ever meet my half-sister."

"How could you possibly know that? And anyway, according to my student ID, I _am_ your sister!" Mitsuki tossed her school ID at Ichigo, which he caught with some minor difficulties. "So you are..." He mumbled. Mitsuki nodded with a sigh.

"Does it hurt?" Mitsuki asked, causing Ichigo to stare at her. "It does, doesn't it? But she's gone now, Ichigo. She'd want you to be strong..." She snatched her ID, "Well, I'm leaving. Go home Ichigo, your family needs you." She advised. _'I can wait a little longer for mine.' She thought. "Visit me after you've become a bit stronger, Ichi-nii."_


End file.
